Legislation (Declaration) Amendment Bill 2016
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill fixes administrative errors that happened when two recent Acts were sent to the Governor for sign-off. Wrong versions of the Mental Health Act 2016 and Racing Integrity Act 2016 were presented for assent, so this bill declares both Acts valid from the start and confirms the correct wording.
Who it affects
The fix is technical and affects no one directly day-to-day, but it provides legal certainty for people treated under mental health laws and for the racing industry.
Key changes
- Declares the Mental Health Act 2016 valid and always has been, despite the wrong version being signed on 4 March 2016
- Declares the Racing Integrity Act 2016 valid and always has been, despite the wrong version being signed on 27 April 2016
- Confirms the correct wording of specific sections in both Acts as passed by Parliament
- Fixes a minor incorrect cross-reference in section 9AI of the Racing Act 2002
- The validating chapters expire the day after they commence, once they have done their job
Bill Story
The journey of this bill through Parliament, including debate and recorded votes.
▸Second Reading14 June 2016View Hansard
Introduced the bill as Leader of the House, explaining it was a technical measure to validate the Mental Health Act 2016 and Racing Integrity Act 2016 after administrative errors were discovered in the versions assented to.
“The bill is technical in nature and is being introduced to put beyond doubt the validity of the Mental Health Act 2016 and the Racing Integrity Act 2016, which were both passed by the parliament earlier this year ... I commend the bill to the House.”— 2016-06-14View Hansard
Indicated opposition support for the technical bill correcting the drafting errors identified by the Clerk.
“The opposition will be supporting the technical bill that has been introduced into the House by the Leader of the House in response to the statement that the Clerk made to the House this morning ... We will support this bill to correct the issue that is before the House.”— 2016-06-14View Hansard
Referenced Entities
Sectors Affected
Classified using AGIFT/ANZSIC Australian government standards